Gun cooling system



N. E. SPURLING GUN COOLING `SYSTEM Filed Aug. 2, l945 Aug. 16, 1949 Patented Aug. 16, 1949 f :entren sr :'Gr-anted .underV Ythel act of 'March 3', :15883; as; amended April 30, 1928; 137010. (5r`.,"'757')S 3 Claims..

The presentrnuerrtiqn;reiatesftoagdevice for air cooling .rearms..

`It is an object of the present invention ,topmvide means for cooling firearms.

Another .obiect. .off thezpresentiinvention is the provision-of an air coolingnleans for gun installationsM onv,e,hicles as, for example, in the Wings and. fuselage? of lighter andjgrdiyewbomber aircraft.

A stillgiurther object ofgthe. tpresent invention is ithe .utilization of the .ram effector air caused by .the. high,.;forward velocity ofya1rplaneswhen iniiight.

Astill further object of'-the,present invention is :the iprcn/ision or means .f or causing air .tocirculate .in as wirling movement around the .barrel Qflelln..

Otherv obiects and advantages. will become .apparent ,asthe description yproceeds, andy iis, taken in connection With 'the accompanying drawings wherein like characters ofreterence designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Aandyvherein:

.Eis .-1 side elevational .view .of a gun.. .and illustrating an air inlet and an air outlet;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3--3 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a modied form of the invention and illustrating a fragmentary section of a wing, portions being broken and in section and illustrating a gun mounted therein; and

Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2, portions being broken.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I represents a plate having apertures Il that receive bolts for securing the plate to a suitable support. The plate is provided with a scoop portion I2 that may be integral with the plate, and an opening I3. The scoop may be so located as to feed cooling air into a gun cooling tube. The opening I3 receives a tube I4, and superimposed upon the tube I is an air intake tube I5, the upper portion I6 of which is of substantially circular configuration, and as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, forms an eccentric sleeve. The tubes I4 and I5 are held together by a connecting tube I'I. The portion IB encompasses a sleeve I8 that is provided with a plurality of apertures I9, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The sleeve I8 at one end receives a barrel jacket 2li, a portion of the outer wall of which snugly engages the inner wall of the sleeve I8, as shown ln Fig. 5. The opposite end wall 2| of the jacket 20 is provided with an aperture 22, the Wall of the jacket being prosleeve |18.. andjacket mare jinspacedrelation to.

the gun barrel '24', thus 'forming a channel 26. 'herear .portomZl-.of .the sleevel is connected to a gun receiver 2.8. and it is .secnredthereto iby an adjustable clamping.l ring 2,95. Asindicated by the. arrows, airenters .the mouth .of .the scoopy I2, passes through the tubes I4. .and IL5 .to the circular ,portion L6., and. being. in..a..turhu1ent. state, enters. the..anerturesjl,.andwitha swirling motion around. fthegunlbarrel. 2.4,..egudes vout of apertures.

.In .the .modifledstructurefillustrated in Fig. 4, the numeral SILrepresentsa.fragmentary wing. portion partly. in section. .Withinthe Wing 3.0 is mo,unted.a gun having abarrelsl, areceiyer s2, a. .barrel iacketgfthatls. .provided with a pluralityof. .anertures anda, securing element .34. Encompassing thcjjacket .is ay .tubular element 3B; thatprorides anoolneacampartment. the inner wall o'f which is in spaced relation to the jacket 33. The wing 30 is provided at the leadlng edge with a blast tube opening 31 that communicates with the cooling compartment, and a spacer tube 38 for closing the compartment 36. The underside of the wing is provided with an opening 39 that is provided with a well known louvre type air scoop and for this reason, the

same is not shown. The opening is in communication with the tubular element 36. The top portion of the wing is provided with an air exit 40 and it is in communication with the tubular element 36. If desired, a Pltot tube 4I may be placed. in the exit or outlet opening 40.

In the use oi the device as illustrated in Fig. 1, air is forced into the scoop I2 due to the high forward velocity of an airplane, the air passing through the tubes I 4 and l5 into the head I6, as shown by the arrows, Fig. 3, Where it is given increased force and passing through the openings I9 is given a swirling motion around the gun barrel 2G. As the air heats up from contact with the hot gun barrel, it is forced along the barrel by the cooler air until it is discharged through apertures 23. In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4, the air stream enters the opening 39 and circulates around the barrel jacket 33 infiltrating through the apertures 35 around the gun barrel 24, escaping through the opening 40 as indicated by the arrows. It will be understood that the above description and accompanying drawings comprehend only the general embodiment of my invention and that various changes in construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What I claim is:

1. In a vehicle, a gun, including Ya barrel, mounted on the vehicle, coolingl means for the gun comprising a substantially circular encasement for the barrel of the gun, said encasement being spaced from the gun barrel to dene Aa channel and having channel closures adjacent the muzzle and breech ends thereof, said encasement having apertures adjacent the respective channel closures, an air intake tube extending offirom the breech end of the encasement, an air scoop at the outer end of the tube, and a casing portion at the inner end of the tube, said casing portion being emplaced on the breech end of the encasement in confining relationship to the adjacent apertures and eccentrically of said encasement.

2. `In aV Vehicle, a gun, including a barrel,

mounted on the vehicle, cooling means for the gun comprising an encasement for the barrel of the gun, said encasement being spaced from the gun barrel to definev a channel and having Ichannel closures adjacent the muzzle and breech ends thereof, said encasement having apertures adjacent the respective channel closures, an air intaketube having an air scoop Vat one of its ends, and a circular casing portion coupling the other end of the intake tube with the encasement, and having the intake tube extending tangentially therefrom, said casing portion being mounted on the encasement over the apertures adjacent to the gun breech and eccentrically of the` encasement to initiate a swirling motion of the air stream around the gun barrel prior to '4 driving it forwardly in the channel and along the barrel for escape at the apertures adjacent to the gun muzzle closure.

3. In a vehicle, a gun, including a barrel, mounted on the vehicle, cooling means for the gun comprising a substantially circular encasement for the barrel, said encasement having closures at its ends bearing on the gun barrel and defining the terminals of a channel around the barrel, the encasement also having apertures adjoining each end closure, and air inductor means depending from said encasement over the apertures adjoining .the breech end of the encasement and mounted eccentrically thereto, said inductor means projecting into the confronting air stream to divert a portion thereof for a reverse W through the channel and out of the apertures adjoining the muzzle end of said gun.

NELSON E. SPURLING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 621,085 Hookham Mar. 14, 1889 1,296,193 Johnston Mar. 4, 1919 1,551,617 Pohlmann Sept. 1, 1925 1,812,339 Horne et al. June 30, 1931 2,097,104 Saha Oct. 26, 1937 2,126,792 MacGregor Aug. 16, 1938 2,221,905 Berlin Nov. 19, 1940v 2,273,839 DePort et al Feb. 24, 1942 2,270,907 Slade Jan. 27, 1942 2,296,314 Slade Sept. 22, 1942 2,402,632 Ivanovic J une 25, 1946 2,428,359 Permentier Oct. 7, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 457,570 Great Britain Dec. 1, 1936 510,709 Great Britain Aug. 4, 1939 

